Oh Brother, watch where thou sweepest

December 29, 2011

Andrew Seidel, FFRF Constitutional Consultant

Another clash over territory in the “Holy Land” flared up today. In Bethlehem, The Church of the Nativity stands over the site where Jesus was allegedly born and is shared by thee Christian sects. The church, which is really two churches and a cave, is almost 130,000 square feet. Apparently that is not enough room for Christians to coexist peacefully alongside one another. A church-room brawl erupted when the Greek Orthodox and Armenians accused each other of territorial violations.

Instead of preaching brotherly love monks, who take the honorific “Brother,” attacked each other with brooms. Why brooms? Because “to repair or clean the structure is to own it . . . That means that letting other sects clean part of the church could allow one to gain ground at another's expense.” It seems that while cleaning the church for a future Orthodox Christmas ceremony one monk crossed the “sweeping line” and needed to be taught a lesson in violence. A full-scale battle between the two groups ensued. Palestinian Security forces, who have nothing better to do, were called to break up the melee. Tis’ the season.